Preface

About this E-Book

A look back at Hardcore in the 90s. Reviews, insights, history, background information related to labels, artists, tracks, and also some cultural musings about Hardcore and art in general towards the end of the book.
Some of these texts were originally written for "The Hard Data" magazine.

Content

Preface
History Of Hamburg Hardcore
Seven Hardcore Tracks That Changed My Life
10 Records As Building Blocks Of The Hamburg Hardcore Scene
The Early Days Of The Tracker Hardcore Scene
Hardcore On The 90s Internet
The Lost Treaure: .Mod Music
Review: Taciturne - 6 Fragmente In Der Chronologie Des Wahnsinns - Fischkopf 12
How I Learned To Love Hardcore
The Crisis Of Music
How Music Has Become Meaningless
Can Music Change The World?
The Next Hardcore Revolution

Credits

All texts written by Sönke Moehl

History Of Hamburg Hardcore

Hamburg is a more than 800 year old harbor town in the north of Germany. As such, it was always also a hotspot for a wide range of subcultures, cranks and crooks, rowdy sailors, prostitutes, pirates that found their place in shady pubs, back alleys and similar dark places.

I entered Hamburg in 1980 by birth, so I can’t tell you much about the 60s or 70s of Hamburg, but in the 80s, it was a place for anarchists, punks, rioters and similar people – creating the current for places of alternate music and political views to be set up. This is a bit of a back story for what happened in the 90s in Hamburg, regarding the then emerging hardcore techno scene.

Fischkopf

Container Records was a record store in the red light zone of Hamburg – the Reeperbahn – one story above a store for alternate clothing. It was focused on techno music only and one of the largest (or the largest?) of such stores in Hamburg. They also were involved in other things, such as running a record label also named Container. And this Container Records had a sublabel called Fischkopf.
The first generation of Fischkopf was a group of people around Martin, the owner of Container Records; I don’t know exactly who was directly involved in running the label, but Cybermouse, DJ Raid and Christoph De Babalon are names I heard over the years (please correct me).

Cybermouse got to Fischkopf because it was noted that he bought only the most extreme and obscure records at the store; something that made the crew think he’d fit right in, apparently. So the first Fischkopf record was released, “Surprise Attack” by Cybermouse. They were all done on an Amiga computer using tracker software and a special FX software; actually, the tracks were first released on a diskette magazine called “Neurowaver” (if you don’t know what a diskette magazine is, ask Google).
Cybermouse’s debut was followed by Christoph De Babalon’s debut, the “Love Under Will” EP, named after Aleister Crowley obviously. On it we find some of the most haunting music with “jungle beats” made in this era.

After a few more EPs, the management changed, and Hardy Storz took over. He steered Fischkopf into the direction that brought worldwide acclaim to it. Releasing experimental, intellectual music that at the same time is hardcore techno. In one of the rare interviews with him, he states that he was annoyed by the turn gabber had taken at that time; becoming more dumb, simplistic, macho. And Fischkopf for sure was the opposite of that.
Fischkopf had most of the major players in the more refined hardcore scene in those days on it’s rooster: Patric C as Eradicator, Lasse Steen with a variety of aliases, Nawoto Suzuki as Burning Lazy Persons, Taciturne, Amiga Shock Force and EPC, and the Michelson sisters Auto-Psy and No Name. Especially these two female fighters brought some of the most interesting music to this label; tracks that are so complex and structured and finetuned, that the word “hardcore” is almost too brutish for them.

Although the pressing for “Fisch” releases were limited to 500, they quickly got known worldwide in the more underground scenes. After a while also parties were set up by the Fisch crew, again in the red light district of Hamburg. These parties attracted a wide range of performers such as Rage Reset, DJ Entox, La Peste, and many many more. Without going too much into this, let’s just repeat Taciturne’s summary that the amount of fog issued in these nights in these dark, strobe filled rooms would’ve clouded a soccer arena.
Even though opposing the “commercial” “Dutch” “gabber” scene, Fischkopf spawned one big hit in exactly that scene; Taciturne’s totem which is still sought after, after all these years.
Fischkopf faltered in 1997; the exact reasons are not known, but talk is about disagreement on the direction to take Fischkopf between Hardy and Container; or that Fisch just did not generate enough “dough”.
One more release appeared in 1998 (and a test pressing of a “Fisch 26” by Cybermouse), only for Fischkopf to disappear completely after that.

Interesting fact: at one point, Alec Empire and Somatic Responses were planned for a Fischkopf release too.

Listening suggestion: Taciturne – 6 Fragmente In Der Chronologie Des Wahnsinns

Cross Fade Entertainment

DJ Raid, who was also involved in Fischkopf, set up this label with Paul Snowden and Christoph De Babalon. The word “hardcore” only vaguely fits here; this is just brilliant, brilliant subcultural music.
The first release was the premier release of Somatic Responses, who took the world by storm in the years (or rather, even decades) that followed. This was still a lot different to their later style: heavy, heavy distorted drums (or noises) in a 4/4 style, with experimental sounds in a vain of early synth experimental music. As fierce as fierce gets.

The second release was done by Christoph De Babalon and Paul Snowden, aptly named “We Declare War”. Paul Snowden’s site has some of the most distorted acid, and CDB brings us assault troop breakbeat tracks here, going on from his Fischkopf release.
In a rare German TV interview, CDB stated CFET to him is “auteur music”, in the sense that the artist take their music in their own individualist direction, regardless of trends. And the releases give proof of that.

Later, we find some fine breakcore releases on CFET.
I can’t find much info on this, but according to defunct websites, the CFET personnel was once involved in the “Repulsion Parties”, taking place inside the “Rote Flora”, the most infamous squat in Hamburg. Line ups included artists like E-De Cologne, Alec Empire and Somatic Responses.
CFET left Hamburg with Jan (CDB) and Paul moving to Berlin.

Listening suggestion: Christoph De Babalon & Paul Snowden – We Declare War

Nordcore

No Hamburg hardcore history text is complete without Nordcore. Nordcore started as “Die Tekknokraten” organizing small techno and hardcore parties, changing the name later. As Nordcore they run a weekly hardcore club called “The Box”, in the midst of Hamburg. I think this was one of the only regular hardcore clubs worldwide that existed in the 90s outside of Netherlands and Belgium; the Bunker in Berlin being another important location.
Almost all the big names in hardcore, gabber and speedcore scene played in the box; Speedfreak, the PCP crew including Smash? (sic), BSE DJ team, Laurent Hô, E-De Cologne… And also a lot of the Dutch DJs.

It were speedy times, but The Box had to close in 1996; much too soon!
The parties got bigger though, and Nordcore moved to the Markthalle, usually a location for rock and pop bands, with their “Operation Nordcore” parties, again attracting all the “big name” performers to play.

Nordcore continued their hardcore journey way long into the 2000s in Hamburg; and maybe we will see them resurface?
They also ran a record label, called Nordcore Records; and, beginning with issue 5, compiled the “Terrordrome” CDs, the biggest name in hardcore CDs in the 90s, only eclipsed by Thunderdome.

Listening suggestion: Nordcore GMBH – Hartcore Will Never Die

Blut

After Hardy left Container, he set up his own record store, called Otaku Records, again with a “Hardcore” label, called Blut Records; and in many way a spiritual successor to Fischkopf Records.
The rooster was similar too: Taciturne, Nawoto, Amiga Shock Force and EPC. We also find a record that was originally planned as Fischkopf 25 here, Taciturne with Ebizieme.

The sound was taken a step farther in extremism with this label, so be prepared for a noise assault on your ears; but, again, a sensible one.
The record store itself was also a good destination to shop for obscure and not so obscure hardcore, speedcore and breakcore records in Hamburg, with it’s own special charme.
Blut never officially ended, but there was no release after Blut 6; a shame!

Listening Suggestion: Taciturne & EPC – Vendetta Vol.1 EP

Hardcore didn’t end in the 90s in Hamburg, but that, my child, is written in another tome…

Seven Hardcore Tracks That Changed My Life

Some tracks hit you harder than others. They go beyond conventions, challenge boundaries, explore
new sonic terrain. They change your whole perception of music. These are seven tracks I considered
groundbreaking on first listen and after.

Inferno Bros. – Slaves To The Rave

The internet was not nearly as big as it is now in the mid 90s. You couldn’t find easily information about
“Underground Hardcore” on it. So which tracks, which music you knew was mostly defined by CDs or
Records you bought in a record store. And these were mostly defined by the Dutch Gabber market –
ID&T, Mokum, if you’re lucky you’d find a release by Ruffneck or K.N.O.R…. So I didn’t know what I
was in for when I bought a new double-CD by the Raver’s Night series, compiled by Ruffneck Records.
The beginning track was Slaves To The Rave by Inferno Bros. I had heard of PCP before, and listened to
some sounds, but barely knew anything really about this label. This changed with this track. It was just
so different from the standardized “Hardcore” and Gabber. There was so much in it, so many elements,
emotions, it picked you up and took you on its own vibe, so far away… what is not to praise about this
track? The intro, the breakdown, the main synths… a true classic.

Wedlock vs. Comababy – Void Sector

When I listened to this track I was still very much in “Dutch Gabber” territory and didn’t know about
labels like Fischkopf, Blut, Anticore yet. I found this track on an “Earthquake” compilation by ID&T. But
it stood out from the common Gabber arsenal. It had a “Spiral Tribe” sample, cold, industrial drumming,
a futuristic atmosphere… but the main thing for me was the synths that were used in this track.
Something I did not hear before, so otherworldly, so “out there”, like you were walking another planet…
I had to listen to this track on repeat for a lot of times. In my opinion, this track is a kind of “missing
link” between Experimental Hardcore and the more Dance-orientated Dutch Gabber productions.

Atari Teenage Riot – Into The Death

So I broke free from the “Supermarket Gabber” CDs I consumed and finally found a real record store
in the midst of Hamburg – “Container Records”, which was, amongst other things, the home of Fischkopf. One of
the first things I bought was “Harder Than The Rest”, a compilation with Digital Hardcore Records
artists. The tracks were all very nice to me, but when I came to “Into The Death”… I was blown away.
There was so much action packed into this track. Pure aggression. An endless onslaught of screams,
noise and beats. I got goosebumps and once the track was finished I had to listen to it again. To this
day this track is an example for me of how you produce a sound that is crammed with excitement.

Somatic Responses – Umbrella

I knew the music of Somatic Responses from the now defunct c8.com website, the main central of Experimental
Hardcore in the 90s and beyond. I got to know them personally on a mailing list, and we decided to exchange our
demos. So in the cold autumn of 1998 I opened a parcel with a demotape by the Somatix. And once I
put the tape in the player, I was gone. The opening synths of Umbrella… I never heard something like
this before. It changed my outlook at music forever. I know another artist who also listened to this track
described the sound by Somatics as “feeling as if you walk through a dystopic world of burned out
industrial building and cyborg wars”. Couldn’t agree more. This track is still amongst my favorites by the
Somatix. It had a huge influence on my own productions too, and I would suppose on a lot of other artists as well.

Frederik Schikowski – Ring My Bell

This gem was hidden on one of the infamous Irritant tape compilations. A mean, dirty little track.
Unusual for Frederik, it reminds of an Acid-Techno-Electro track, something that could’ve been on Mono
Tone or Force Inc. But the thing for me were the synth sounds, oddly squealing and distorted. The track
just sounded so exotic and different. A mental atmosphere, and a mind trip. A huge influence on my own track “Urban Uprising”.

Disintegrator – In The Sun

This track was actually one of the first Hardcore tracks I heard, as it was on the “Industrial Fucking
Strength” mix CD that I bought in the Gabber section of a chain store. But it wasn’t after 2000 that I
I first listened to the track in full length. It is a masterpiece in dystopic Techno. Wailing choirs like an air
raid warning, a voice muttering “Defcon, Defcon”, sounds like heavy vehicles moving, a killer
bassdrum… what else do you need. A true definition of “Hardcore Techno” and it shows how far ahead
even “older” sound could be. This track set me on a journey to discover the more Techno side of
Hardcore again, after the Breakcore “hype” of the late 90s.

303 Nation – Seis

Oh yeah. This track. A cryogenic nightmare on an outer space colony. Something went wrong but you
can hear the humming of the machines in the distance…
This is a very simple track really, just a drum and a bassline… but so effective in its simple ways.
Words can’t praise this track, and the whole “6 Tracker” release, enough. It’s just so peculiar, so much
there, so special… 303 Nation were true masters of Techno, and this was the high point of their art.

So these were some tracks that made an impact on me, and I hope there are much more to come.

10 Records As Building Blocks Of The Hamburg Hardcore Scene

These are some of the records that build the hardcore scene in Hamburg as well as created the reputation that Hamburg has as a source for sophisticated hardcore. The tracks that were played at smoke and strobe-filled squat parties and sold at dodgy rave-techno record stores.

01. Auto-Psy – Necrophage (Fischkopf) https://www.discogs.com/Auto-Psy-Necrophage/master/12122
02. No Name – Les Loups Des Trois Lunes (Fischkopf) https://www.discogs.com/No-Name-Les-Loups-Des-Trois-Lunes/release/24340
03. Somatic Responses – Methods Of Mutulation (CFET) https://www.discogs.com/Somatic-Responses-Methods-Of-Mutulation/master/232745
04. Taciturne – 6 Fragmente In Der Chronologie Des Wahnsinns (Fischkopf) https://www.discogs.com/Taciturne-6-Fragmente-In-Der-Chronologie-Des-Wahnsinns/release/118195
05. Nordcore GMBH – Dead Man (Nordcore Records) https://www.discogs.com/Nordcore-GMBH-Dead-Man/master/281223
06. Christoph De Babalon – Love Under Will (Fischkopf) https://www.discogs.com/Christoph-De-Babalon-Love-Under-Will-EP/release/118150
07. Eradicator – Agit Prop (Fischkopf) https://www.discogs.com/Eradicator-Agit-Prop/master/497762
08. Various Artists – Compilation (CFET) https://www.discogs.com/Various-Compilation/release/133272
09. Nordcore GMBH – Hartcore City Downtown )(Nordcore Records) https://www.discogs.com/Nordcore-GMBH-Hartcore-City-Downtown/release/16386
10. Fields Of Defacement – Desorientatet (Fischkopf) https://www.discogs.com/Fields-Of-Defacement-Desorientatet-EP/master/283278

The Early Days Of The Tracker Hardcore Scene

I want to talk about tracker music, including hardcore. Tracker music was and is done on tracker programs like Soundtracker, Protracker, Fasttracker, Impulse Tracker and countless others.

What people will notice first is the abstract, “top down” view of the sequencer screen, very much unlike the layout of modern DAW programs. Trackers were, to most part, a digital form of producing. The basic sequencing was done by writing the sound to be used (the sample) and the pitch into the sequence editor. All channels were on the same screen (so for example you had to sequence hi-hats and bassdrum and bassline together and could not “add them later”).

These “patterns” were then put into a playing order in another screen. You could add “effects” to each note played such as pitchbent or vibrato, and in later trackers even filtering.

The finished result was saved as modules files, or MODs. These contained both the song and the samples that were used.

In the present day, Tracker technology has improved by a lot; programs like Renoise or Jeskola Buzz added hundreds of new functions and changes in the style and way to produce. Buzz allows you to use a variety of soft-synths written for the program, for example, so you no longer have to rely on sampling.

Before the internet, these modules were spread in the BBS scene. BBS was short for Bulletin Board System and to an internet user it’s hard to explain what exactly they were. A BBS was run on a computer and you could dial it up with your own computer and a modem – around the globe basically – and when you accessed the BBS it offered services like messaging boards, chat (where you could talk to other users that had dialed up the BBS at the same time as you), games, and download sections – were amongst other things track modules could be downloaded or uploaded.

Tracker artists often organized themselves in groups, so called crews. These crews usually were not just composed of musicians, but had also graphic artists, writers, and often programmers – “coders”; they turned the individual tracks into a release of multiple tracks with visuals and menus – kinda like a multimedia LP. Often these releases were stand-alone programs done by the coders which played so called demos while the modules played – graphic animations, often in a virtual reality and cyberspace style, sometimes even short movies, that tested the computing power of your system to its limits.

This is where the tracker scene met the demo scene; demos could be written for existing tracks, or demo coders included tracks for the demos; so sometimes the music came first, sometimes the programming.

The crews had so called couriers that dialed up BBS sytems around the country or world to spread the tracker releases. Often a crew had its own BBS or a BBS was connected to several crews.

With the rise of the internet, the world of BBS systems faded quickly; but the tracker and demo scene moved to the net and survives on it to this day.

With the rise of techno and hardcore, this sound quickly spread to the tracker scene too in the early 90s; long before speedcore really took its hold on vinyl, tracks that exceeded 300 or 400 bpm were released as modules.

Most producers and crews were not “hardcore only” though, and did a variety of techno and electronic styles.

The tracker and demo scene were the root for many techno and hardcore artists in the 90s: Nasenbluten, Neophyte, E-De Cologne, Christoph De Babalon, Amiga Shock Force all started on tracker programs and many many more did so. Hardsequencer, Cybermouse, Bomb 20 and others had releases in the BBS or Amiga scene before their sounds was put to vinyl and CD.

But the vast majority of tracker music never saw the light of day outside its scene; just the couriers and crews and users of the BBS world knew about them. But now there are some archives for this very scene on the internet. It’s a sonic treasure that’s still be to dug up.

Here are three mixes that are showcasing the early tracker hardcore scene:

AMIGA SHOCK FORCEBOMB 20CHRISTOPH DE BABALON

Hardcore On The 90s Internet

Three examples of how it was to be a Hardcore fan / artist in the 90s and using the Internet when the World Wide Web still seemed a new thing and Facebook and Youtube didn’t exist.

Biophilia

In the 90s, there were not so many ways for artists to connect on the internet. One of these ways were mailing lists; you were added to a list, and then you could send emails to this list, and all other members too, and everyone would get forwarded anyone else’s mails. A quite rudimentary way of communication. One of these lists was the Biophilia list, run by Multipara. Before discogs.com, there were also not so many ways to find a discography of your favorite label online. Multipara catered to that need too. He had a website which listed records on such labels as Fischkopf, Mono Tone, Mille Plateaux… I got into contact with him to ask some questions about Fischkopf and later also supplied information myself, as I was “at the source” in Hamburg where the label was run. Eventually he invited me to the Biophilia list too. This mailing list orignally was intended as a list for people who liked the music of Martin Damm, also known as Speedfreak or Biochip C. and other aliases – hence the name of the list, but it then became more a list for “underground” electronic sounds, including Experimental Hardcore, Early Breakcore and similar outings. Members included Thaddi from the Sonic Subjunkies, Joel from kool.pop / ex-DHR, Andy from Irritant and I think DJ Entox and John from the Somatic Responses, was on there too, as well as many other artists or enthuasists of strange electronic music.
As so many artists were on the list, Multipara got the idea to do a compilation with the very artists of this list, and it happened.
The styles of this release are very varied and definitely show the varying interests of the members of this mailing list; from Chiptune and Ambient to Detroit type Techno to Breakcore and Speedcore everything is here.
My own contribution was the first thing that ever was released by me, Adrenaline Junkie, a 800 BPM Speedcore affair that was 1998 amongst the fastest tracks out there on vinyl.
It was really a special time and community, and this double vinyl was a special result out of it and it makes a nice memory to the mailing list, this rather “primitive” form of internet communicaton.

Gabber on EFnet IRC

Another trip down memory lane. In the 90s, there was no Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger. If you wanted to chat online, you would likely use Internet Relay Chat, or IRC. IRC was organized in chatroom channels that ran on servers, that then were connected in huge networks. One of these networks was EFnet, and it had a channel called #gabber, run by DJ Skinner of Black Monolith Recordings. We were a dozen and a half users on there, including Acid Enema, Eye-D from The Outside Agency, Maurice from Rotterdam Terminator Source and lots of others (Satronica, Knifehandchop, Interrupt Vector etc.). It was good times, lots of networking happened, and the beginning of Black Monolith Recordings was laid in that chatroom, and it was also how I got into contact with that label when I sent an early demo of “Urban Uprising” to Skinner – the rest is history. Memories!

C8.com and P2

Third trip down memory lane… we talked about chatrooms and mailing lists… but there was no social media to spread infos and sounds about Hardcore and related music in the 1990s. Instead there were websites and the biggest (for this type of music) was c8.com. It hosted PCP, an early incarnation of Bloody Fist, Somatic Responses and much, much more. The site hosted articles of various fanzines, preview music of plenty of releases, contact and background information and artists and more stuff. It was run by Stevvi who also started a mailing list for artists, fans and everyone else to communicate about what he called “dark, sick music”, and it was. While the list thrived for a few years, it ultimately decayed eventually, with lots of “shitposts” and other stuff, a taster of the Internet culture to come. So he set up a secret mailing list called P2, invite-only and only for the Hardcore elite… just kidding, mostly friends and people who had networked, and people around C8 who could hold a meaningful debate. It was host to many a great conversations, exchange of communication and connecting of artists, also some “scene fights” that almost 20 years later we can laugh about, and even some musical projects such as the c8 99 one (making tracks that last only 99 seconds, I think some of the Somatic Responses ones later got released). Artists on P2 were for example Boris Cavage, Noize Creator, and I think DJ Pure and Christoph Fringeli.
One of the CD-Rs I sent to Stevvi he advertised on P2 (and put it in the music section of c8.com) and this led to the release of my Kougai split with Cdatakill and my Widerstand album, and other stuff.

Nice memories again, of an era when communication was more limited but also more direct and the scene appeared smaller, before today’s version of the Internet.

The Lost Treaure: .Mod Music

before the internet, there was the BBS scene. it is more or less unknown by now; what was it? basically, you had a modem, not a modern cable modem but one that could only send a few kilobytes per second. and with that you could connect to a BBS with other users; think of it as a webpage that had blocky 4

color graphics and chat, downloads, forums and other things, but you could only use one at a time and a download could take 1 hour in which you can not

use the computer. this was where the .mod scene strived. mods were and are tracks, songs, made by a tracker; they had two parts, the samples and the

sequences of the songs. which means that everyone could remix a mod he downloaded with direct access to all the samples and melodies, and this was encouraged. the BBS scene was huge; a large city could have literally hundreds of BBSes, and the .mod scene was huge too, and is still largely ignored, or just not known, by now. it was composed of enthusiasts from all walks of life who made music on their tracker programs and shared it for free. mods were uploaded as single files, as releases such as compilations, or used in so called "demos" (visual and auditive programs that showed the possibilites of computer graphics or told a story), and other things. they were also used in computergames and the largest part of, for example, amiga computergame tunes in that era were based on mod music. .mods came in all styles; techno, electro, jungle, industrial, dark ambient, "rock", hiphop - you name it. and they had many genres that only existed in the mod world, including the typical mod sound.

and amongst this is some of the most exciting, brilliant, creative, genius and genuine music i ever heard; i was disappointed with most "known" musical genres a few years ago, and when i rediscovered computer mods, it felt so fresh, so exciting, so new.

they have qualites that i found nowhere, or rather, seldomly in any other music.

what is so exciting about mods is hard to tell; check them out for yourself; it would be something to explore. i think it is largely because it is some of the most abstract music ever made. to me, it is more abstract than most experimental electronics i know. it is purely logical, technological, digital computer music made by pure nerds. this might not sound exciting, but trust me, it is.

one problem with the current lack of recognition of mod music is well, that they are enticingly cheesy often. there are very dark and sombre mod tunes; in fact there are mods i consider some of the darkest music i know. yet, let's face it, most are more a happy trip. the constant major chords and pitched up vocal sounds. yet, lately, people have started to look through the cheesiness of pop music and came to appreciate it; couldn't the same be done with mods? the seemingly happy sound doesn't feel out of place; it too feels synthetic and abstract.

so, yes, as i said, what stunned me was the amount of creativity and energy that was put into these tunes. there are harmonic strcuctures, rhythm structures, i rarely seen elsewhere. it is one of most creative examples of the use of sample based music.

just like videogame music has seen a surge of interest and serious appreciation in the last years, i think in the next years, or decade, the popularity for mod music might rise significantly too. be sure to check it out; there is so much wonderful music to be found.

Review: Taciturne - 6 Fragmente In Der Chronologie Des Wahnsinns - Fischkopf 12

Taciturne is one of the most sought after of the early underground hardcore producers. not a small feat when one takes into account that he only released 3 and a half records (or rather, two halfs - there is also a split EP he did under a different name) during his active period. Yet he fully deserves this appreciation.
"6 Fragmente In Der Chronologie Des Wahnsinns" means "six fragments in the chronology of madness" in english.
it is probably a reference to a well known independent movie, "Sechs Fragmente in der Chronologie des Zufalls".

A1 - Mourning

there are six tracks on this record so start with the first, "Mourning".
the name is rightly chosen. it starts with quiet, calm, choral chanting, a bit gregorian, but not "epic" gregorian, something soft and slow. then the beat comes in, sounds like a distorted 909. the speed is slow, but with a lot of offbeat kicks lined in the rhythm. after a while a breakdown comes, and we hear the sound of a heartbeat speeding up. in fact this creeped me out one night, when i was listening to it half asleep and wondered why my heart suddenly seemed to sound so strange, before i realised it was in the track.
this is actually all elements the track has, yet this is enough. the track is wonderful and great, the concept is just brilliant and well worked out. hardcore enthusiasts might label it as "doomcore" and it could be used in such a set, but it is also much more than that.

A2 - Dexpanthenol

if you're an experimental hardcore fan, go for this one. abrasive sounds, broken rhythms and hard beats.
to be honest, for me less interesting than the other tracks on this record, yet still hugely better than most productions

A3 - Boys Don't Cry (Revisited)

this track stands out with it's ironic sense of humor. it's a remix of Boys Don't Cry by everyone's favorite postpunkwavegothic band, The Cure. this was when a time when remixes of "pop" tracks where not common in the scene outside the "happy hardcore" world. i remember taciturne once did a chart for the french TNT magazine (one of the most spread hardcore zines back then) which had only synthpop and new wave songs in it, so i think he honestly likes The Cure. the track is a lot of fun either way, should put a smile on everyones face. what i especially like is the complete intentional trash/lofi way this track is produced, the sample often somehow muddles up as if token from a bad tape, and seems somewhat offrhythm most of the time. lovely.
"we're pleased to welcome Robert Smith from The Cure".

B1 - Phenylephrin-Hydrochlorid

from the fun of the end of the A-side to something very serious again. maybe this could be called nightmare techno? a very slow beat, a drone throughout the track, and one of the most creative uses of the mentasm sound i've ever heard. in the middle of the track it speeds up and becomes somewhat more of a hardcore affair.
brilliance. play this when it rains outside.

B2 - Haematopan F

anthem. the track starts with a slow, but very hard pounding, industrial distorted kickdrum. then more metal and noise sounds are added, and a female voice declares "hardcore" (where did he take this from?).
but it doesnt end at this, in the middle of the track choral sounds come in and add a very soothing touch to this track.
it's hard to find words for how good this track is. it just has such a big impact, while being cold and chill.

B3 - Phenprocoumon

the last track and this is my favorite track of this record. a bit similiar to A2 again, we have lot's of unstraight rhythms and distortion. but what makes this track so stunning is the melody that comes in now and then. it sounds almost japanese or chinese, very soft, very still. this antagonism between this melody and the abrasiveness of the rest is amazing.

so there are six complety great tracks on this record, that stand out from a lot of other music.
a masterpiece. top notch. magnificient.

How I Learned To Love Hardcore

How did I get into hardcore? It was 1995, I was 14 and heavily into rave and hard trance. That sound swept through Germany, it was essentially mainstream—much more popular than trance or house is now. Hardcore was a part of it, but unlike the happy rave sounds, it was boycotted by the TV and radio stations (which unlike today were the main source for new sounds.) I asked my rave friends about hardcore, and most said two things: “Good for dancing, not so good for listening” and “Terrordrome is better than Thunderdome”.
Then, one night the following happened. MTV’s Party Zone was on. Some guys I’ve never heard of—Alec Empire and others—were talking about a label I never heard of, Digital Hardcore Recordings. They played the video for Atari Teenage Riot’s “Speed”, which took place inside a squat. I instantly knew that was where I’ve always wanted to be, and the sound I’ve always wanted to hear. There was no return.

A few months later, I got internet, and found out more about this DHR. The DHR webpage mentioned labels like Fischkopf, Napalm, GTI, and Bloody Fist. I was thrilled. Fischkopf was a hardcore label in the city I lived in! How exciting.

I was 15 by this point, and and started to learn more about the gabber side of things. I learned that Mokum was one of the most respected gabber labels around, so I bought Cyberdrome Alien City Part 1, one of their compilations. It introduced me to artists like Wavelan, Speedfreak, and Chosen Few. I knew now hardcore was the thing for me. The next compilation I bought was Thunderdome 12, and then Industrial Fucking Strength. That one really hit me hard. When DJ Skinhead came on, I was legitimately frightened . I had to take the CD out of the player before it was finished!

More compilations followed, and I became lost to hardcore and gabber. I finally picked up something by DHR—Alec Empire’s Destroyer Album. I was surprised how “dark” it sounded compared to the more upbeat Mokum and Ruffneck stuff I listened to. It took me six months before that album really grew on me.

I found out Fischkopf was run out of a techno store in Hamburg called Container Records. I headed there, went up the stairs to the store, and entered paradise! A wall with “hardcore” written on it (next to some fancy skulls) and full of underground hardcore CDs. The full section of hardcore vinyl was categorized by labels, sublabels, and in the case of Fischkopf, even by releases (one folder full of Fischkopf 12, for example). I bought Ec8or’s self-titled album and a Fucking Hardcore 5 CD. The former, again, took a while to grow on me. The first vinyl I bought was Fisch 14, Eradicator’s Agit Prop LP. When I heard the first track on it—with the “everything is war” intro—I fell in love.

So that’s how I got lost in hardcore.

The Crisis Of Music

what is the crisis of music these days, that so many people seem to feel, yet find it hard to put in words often? - only to be denounced by those who assure everyone that everything would be "fine". it is that music is only made for petty, small, boring, useless, mindless reasons - to get rich, for fame, for a social position, for greed and material selfgain. to became a star, a megaseller - or at least a "star" within an enclosed "underground scene". music should be made for positive things, for ideals - for the good of humanity, for utopian concepts, to help others, to heal others. to add something good, something truly good and positive and wonderful and fantastic to this world. but this is to most parts lost now. oh, i know a lot of people say this was always the case, just "covered up" so maybe not visible to everyone. but this is far from the truth. even if we would say it was like that, even in the full extent, there is a change in quality now. some promoter or musician might have joined a radical, utopian youth culture for money or fame, and covered it up with nice words. but at least the possiblity of making truly utopian music was acknowledged. these guys might have though "yeah, we are clever, the others strive for social change, but we go for luxury". but nowadays, this position itself has become almost an impossible - for these people. if an electronic musician says he makes music for the revolution, for a free world, for a radical change of the social system, or a peaceful, equal society - he will simply be laughed at, not taken serious, in fact a lot of people would assume he or she has lost his or her mind. because this "utopian viewpoint" is simply not understandable to most people now. almost impossible - but not quite. because, after all, there are still people who believe in the revolution, in a just society and world, and in wonderful, adventurous ideals and concepts. maybe they do not even lack numbers, as opposed to the radical 60s or the punk years of the 70s. but they for sure have become less visible, less "public". in fact, i often get feedback by people who are still radical and dreamers, but most say they feel alienated to the material, greey, shallow music cultures and subcultures that feed the bullshit of the masses and the rest these days. this could be an intermission to say to these people: go on with the struggle! you are for sure not alone. to go on with the topic, if music is not made with a high and positive ideal in mind, it loses all it's value, it's spark, the elements that are interesting and special and outragous (in a good way). this music - becomes the shallow tripe that it is. just think about it - some of music that is most respected and well-known these days, was it not made by dreamers and idealists, who had the most ideal social structures and radical concepts in mind? couldn't that serve as a proof that indeed this way has - its merits? who will think of bands or musicians in 50 years that just swam with their greedy peers in a shallow soup. also what i see a lot these day, is that, especially upcoming musicians, walk a road without orientation. they put a lot of work and energy, and quite some hard sacrifices, into their art. then it first gets ignored, gets picked up by a label or distributor or something else, than "public" interest vanes, and they slowly get back to their start and are in danger of fading into obscurity. this is the danger when music is not based on a high ideal! if you have an ideal - for example, helping people, giving them a positive outlook at life - you have already "attained" everything with your art, when you do this very thing. even if you only help 2-3 people this way, you have done a good deed. and it doesn't matter how many other people listen to your music or stuff like that. and even - which is unlikely - you do not manage to do something good with your art - at least you have tried, and this is noble in itself, and you have done something good and do not have to blame yourself. so what are these high ideals art could be based on? i already mentioned some - to create a revolutionary situation by your music, or helping a radical struggle with your output. music can be a vehicle to make people aware of social and political issues by your lyrics or titles. a noble way is to make music that generally spreads a feeling of amazement, something adventurous, marvelous - for adventure and marvel is what the world needs! and, the most noble act could be, to create art that *heals* others, gives them hope and an outlook and a good foundation for their life. it is no sense to try to make a comprehensive list here - any noble and good and high ideal is worth being put into art. so the next question would be, *how* to put these ideas into? well it should be obvious - just do it. use vocals or lyrics to achieve this, or the direction of your music, the general structure of your art. also there are many many more ways. and, in the end, if you are guided by high ideals when doing your art, they doubtless will end up in your art! so go ahead. 

How Music Has Become Meaningless

there has been a lot of talk that contemporary music, and its associated scenes, are kinda shallow, superficial, devoid of meaning. while others dismiss this is purely subjective opinions. what people rarely realize is that music has become meaningless in the most literal of senses.

let's take a look at the past; people in the 60s believed that their music would lead to a revolution, to a whole new society, to a whole new world; that it would be able to sweep away all old structures and the negativity enforced by them. punks believed their music would enable them to beat society, to break all rules - and get away with this, win with it.

does todays music still have these powers? does anybody believe that music still could have these powers?

does someone who electronically buys a minimal techno track, believe he could cause a political, social or cultural uprising, a change by this? no.

so music has really no meaning anymore. it's just a good for consumption; restricted to leisure; to get the shallow, limited, cut down joy that capitalism allows its slaves to have for a few minutes between working and sleeping.

the ironic thing is that the last trace of meaning today is found in the megapop productions of the big corporations. because the teenagers still believe their stars are something special, and would lead them to a wonderful escape from everyday life. of course this is nothing to build on; it's just a last refuge; and of course based on lies; but, as it is the usual matter with belief, it's still better to believe in something wrong, then to not believe in anything at all.

but let's leave this pop business behind. music has to have a meaning outside of itself - outside of the track, song itself - to be meaningful. music that is just for leisure time or consumption doesn't do the trick. there has to be a political, cultural content, movement, struggle, party, organisation associated with a certain music to elevate it from the boring rubble of mass content. structures have to be created, leaflets printed, things shouted down the street. music, left to itself - just an isolated song, or track - is an impossibility. it has to be part of a bigger plan, scheme.

and this is still possible. music has the power to change the world. music has the power to change your life; to something wonderful, to something special; to lead you out of oppression or the banality of everyday life. to lead you to adventure, to lead you to excitement.

let's not get stuck with mere political goals. any concept, structure, organisation, that can be tied to music, that brings the unknown, the daring, the amazing to people's life is worth supporting. there is nothing wrong with gaining pleasure by music; just the consumer society non-pleasurable banal "joy" that is associated with common music, is the problem; you can reach pure, true ecstatic pleasure by music, so don't bother with less.

the possibilites are still there. we just have to realize them, and utilize them.

Can Music Change The World?

imagine an isolated tribe on a remote island would lose the knowledge and skills to construct boats. after a few centuries not only the knowledge could be forgotten, but also the existance of the boats themselves. the idea to travel the ocean and visit other islands would be like fairytales and myths to them.

the same has happened in western culture with the truth that art can change the world.

for centuries, people knew that books, plays, poems, music, paintings can change society.

yet if you state nowadays that art can change society positively, that, for example, a single piece of music, when done right, can spark a revolution, one is met with disbelief and ridicule.

yet this was the belief for a long time, even for most part if the 20th century.

for example, for more than half a century the soviets knew that certain art could damage their authoritarian society and lead uprisings, and took great pains to eradicate and ban it.

but also in the west people knew this.

when rock'n'roll happened in the 50s, americans realized this music could overthrow their old, conservative and also authoritarian society.

and indeed this music changed society for good. that a fullscale revolution did not happen was only because the artists and fans lacked true faith in the end and gave up with the total uprising already in sight. not because it was not strong enough for it, or because the authoritans could have stopped it.

it didn't end in the 50s. similiar fears by society happened with 60s rock, punk in the 70s, and plenty of other subcultures.

the last subculture that was seen like this, as a possible "downfall of society" (in fact a positive revolution) was techno and rave in the 90s.

again, the social "techno revolution" was indeed very much possible back then and only stopped (maybe in almost the very last second) because the DJs and producers "switched side" and joined the capitalist business branches and markets instead - for petty self gain. but the revolution is still possible, even today.

so until the end of the 20th century, in both the western and eastern bloc, people knew that art can thoroughly change society. it is only at the turn of the millenium this knowledge was lost.

if we go back in history, we are met with this knowledge again. remenber the "scandalous" books or paintings of the 19th century.

again, the oppenents claimed that if these were allowed to spread, the whole of society would be in danger (again, in these cases a good thing - because not positive social aspects were in danger but rather oppressive, authoritarian structures of society).

imagine that! in the 19th century a single book could have led to a revolution. but this is very much still possible with art today.

if we go even deeper in history, we again see how the church and monarchs went out of their way to battle certain books and texts - because they knew they could end their reign.

if we look at other cultures, for example islam, we again find the knowledge and fear of societal powerful art.

but even in western society today! the far right artists know they can change society by art (and they should be fought on this). the left radical artists, for example political punk bands, know it too.

the church types are scared of certain art due to this. the esoterics believe in the power of art.

there is only a self proclaimed "elite" of conservative media persons, subcultural people and false, boring "rarionalists" who think that music, art and culture couldn't "change a thing"

most examples i mentioned involve a certain "fear" of powerful art; but the fear was only there because it was voiced by those who were entangled in an oppressive and authoritarian society, profiteering by it, and fearing everything that could lead to real change.

almost every culture and society in history and right now knew that art can change the world. isn't it then very unlikely that the "media conservatives" are right?

believe in it - no, rather *know* it - that music, books, all of art can start a revolution - and change the world positively for good.

The Next Hardcore Revolution

A lot of people in the 90s thought Hardcore Techno, Breakcore or "Digital Hardcore" would lead to a political revolution; others might have not had such "high goals" mind but nevertheless thought Hardcore would take the world by storm, and Gabber and Hardcore would make a big impact and especially life would continue to be just a "big party"; others had even lesser objects of desire but at least thought they somehow could live inside the "hardcore world" as a DJ and producer etc. for the rest of their life and would not have to worry about such issues like having a job or caring much about money; living the "artist life" for good.

Nearly all of these people I knew eventually defected from these goals when they got older; and very much joined the boring "everyday world" they did despise so much when they were young.

I too thought all these concepts and ideas failed by the time around the millennium; and thought these things would be impossible to attain by now.

But when I got older, I realized this was not a rational response at all. It's like a scientist who designs a new plane, or train, or rocket. The first unmanned prototype blows up. A setback, yes, even a big setback. But does that mean he or she has to give up? Does it mean the project of designing a new rocket *has* to fail? No, in most cases the scientist will continue to work on it, and if the second prototype doesn't work, maybe the third or the fifth. The history of science is full of examples of technologies and people that failed at first, but the scientific idea turned right in the end (think of the failed attempts at "flying" before the first plane took of for good").

And this is very true for us too. The Hardcore Revolution didn't happen in 1999. But that does not mean it can not happen now, or in the future. We failed - once. So let's get up and try again. Return to our ideals and make sure they come true this time.